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JACOB,  SON  OF  AARON,  HIGH  PRIEST  OF  TH 
SAMARITANS. 


FHE  HISTORY  AND  RELIGION 
OF  THE  SAMARITANS 


BY 

JACOB,  SON  OF  AARON 
HIGH  PRIEST  OF  THE  SAMARITANS 
AT  SHECHEM,  PALESTINE 

EDITED  WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

WILLIAM  ELEAZAR  BARTON,  D.D. 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  ARABIC 
BY 

ABDULLAH  BEN  KORI 


Oak  Park,  111. 

THE  PURITAN  PRESS 
1906 


k.;! 


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Note.— The  following  history  appeared  in  the  BiBmoTHECA 
Sacra  for  July,  1906,  and  is  reprinted  by  courtesy  of  its  editor. 
A previous  article,  by  Dr.  Barton,  entitled,  ‘‘  The  Samaritan 
Pentateuch,”  appeared  in  the  Bibliotheca  Sacra  for  October, 
1903.  Either 'of  these  pamphlets  may  be  obtained  for  25  cents 
from  The  Puritan  Press,  Oak  Park,  Illinois. 


Copyright,  1906,  The  Bibliotheca  Sacra  Co. 


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THE  HISTORY  AND  RELIGION  OF  THE 
SAMARITANS. 

BY  JACOB,  SON  OF  AARON,  HIGH  PRIEST  OF  THE  SAMARITANS 
AT  SHECHEM. 


INTRODUCTION. 

BY  WILLIAM  ELEAZAR  BARTON,  D.D. 

The  author  of  the  following  history,  Jacob,  son  of  Aaron,  is  high 
priesr  of  the  Samaritans  at  Nablus,  Palestine,  the  ancient  Shechem. 
He  is  now  seventy-three  years  of  age,  and  has  been  high  priest  for 
fifty-eight  years.  Although  the  custopa  of  the  Samaritans  does  not 
permit  a man  to  officiate  as  priest  until  he  is  thirty  years  of  age, 
Jacob  was  consecrated  at  fifteen,  as  he  was  the  eldest  nephew  of  the 
high  priest  who  died  at  that  time,  and  who  had  no  sons  of  his  own. 

I learned  of  this  book  from  a letter  written  me  by  the  high  priest 
himself,  in  which  he  said  that  he  had  prepared  this  history  for  an 
eminent  English  scholar,  an  Oxford  professor,  who  died  before 
the  work  was  completed.  Upon  this  book,  the  high  priest  declares, 
he  spent  two  years  of  labor;  and  he  regretted  not  only  the  loss  of 
time,  and  the  money  which  he  needed,  but  also  the  opportunity 
to  make  known  to  Christians  the  doctrines  of  his  community.  He 
counts  it  a misfortune  that  the  Samaritans  are  known  to  the  Chris- 
tians only  through  their  mutual  enemies,  the  Jews.  His  own  feeling 
toward  the  Christian  world  is  a very  kindly  one,  and  he  has  satis- 
faction in  those  references  in  the  New  Testament  which  show  the 
sympathetic  attitude  of  Jesus  toward  the  Samaritans.  He  appre- 
ciates the  interest  of  Christian  travelers  in  himself  and  his  people, 
and  wishes  to  give  them  what  he  believes  to  be  the  true  story  of  the 
Samaritan  division  from  the  Jews. 


6 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


After  some  correspondence  and  delay  I purchased  from  the  high 
priest  the  history  he  had  compiled.  It  is  in  Arabic,  with  Scripture 
passages  quoted  in  Samaritan  text  and  in  the  Hebrew  language. 
It  is  neatly  written,  and  makes  a manuscript  volume  of  two  hundred 
and  ninety-six  pages.  Scripture  references  are  given  in  Samaritan 
Hebrew,  and  repeated  in  the  Arabic. 

The  Jews  date  the  origin  of  the  Samaritans  as  a people  from  the 
importation  of  foreigners  into  Northern  Syria  after  the  conquest 
by  Sargon  in  722  B.  C.,  and  the  rise  of  their  religion  from  the  time 
when  Manasseh,  a young  priest  who  had  married  a daughter  of  San- 
ballat,  the  Samaritan  governor,  refused  to  leave  his  wife  at  the 
command  of  Nehemiah  in  432  b.  c.  It  cannot  fail  to  be  noted  with 
interest  that  the  high  priest  rests  his  case  on  no  defense  of  Man- 
asseh, however  oppressive  the  decree  of  Nehemiah  might  have  been 
made  to  appear.  According  to  his  argument,  which  is  the  historic 
argument  of  his  sect,  the  Samaritans  are  the  original  Hebrews,  de- 
scendants of  Joseph,  except  their  priests,  who  are  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi.  According  to  their  tradition,  it  is  the  Jews  who  have  gone 
aside,  both  by  intermarriage  with  other  nations,  which  the  Samari- 
tans still  shun,  and  also  by  secession  from  the  capital  and  sanctuary 
established  by  Joshua  and  steadfastly  maintained  by  the  faithful 
Samaritans  to  this  day,  and  by  departure  from  the  Torah,  which  the 
Jews  are  alleged  to  have  corrupted  and  added  to. 

The  most  interesting  fact  connected  with  the  present  document 
is  the  way  in  which  the  priest  thrusts  the  wedge  of  his  argument  into 
a palpable  hiatus,  and  perhaps  more  than  one,  in  Old  Testament 
history.  When  Palestine  is  settled,  Shechem  is  the  capital  and  sanc- 
tuary. Here  the  bones  of  Joseph  are  buried;  here  Joshua  assembles 
the  tribes;  here  later,  even  after  the  division,  kings  come  to  be 
crowned.  Then,  without  any  apparent  reason,  we  find  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant  at  Shiloh,  and  a temple  there,  and  a priest  named  Eli, 
of  whose  antecedents  no  very  definite  account  is  given  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  whose  name  does  not  appear  in  the  genealogy  of  the 
Aaronic  priests  in  1 Chron.  vi.  3-15.  Later  the  Ark  is  moved  from 
this  locality,  and  located  in  Jerusalem  in  the  reign  of  David,  a 
calamity  and  consequent  delay  occurring  in  the  transfer.  There  is 
still  another  delay,  accounted  for  by  a revelation  to  David  that  not 
he  but  his  son  must  build  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem.  Thus,  finally, 
the  transfer  from  Shechem  to  Jerusalem  is  made,  and  the  worship 
of  the  nation  is  established  in  what  is  declared  by  Old  Testament 
writers  after  the  fact  to  have  been  the  place  of  the  original  divine 
intent;  but  which  is  unnamed  in  the  prophecies  of  the  establishment 
of  the  capital  and  sanctuary — unnamed,  because,  as  the  high  priest 
contends,  every  one  knew  that  Shechem  was  the  place. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


7 


Into  every  one  of  these  open  doors  of  controversy  the  Ugh  priest 
enters,  and  brings  forth  what  the  reader  may  here  discover.  Eli, 
according  to  his  history,  was  a usurper,  a subordinate  priest  on  Ger- 
izim,  who  took  advantage  of  the  immaturity  of  the  high  priest  to 
exalt  his  own  ambition.  He  is  declared  to  have  moved  his  temple 
to  Shiloh,  where  he  counterfeited  the  sacred  furniture,  and  claimed 
that  it  was  original.  It  was  the  time  of  anarchy  and  godlessness: 
-few  of  the  people  knew  or  cared  what  Eli  did.  He  and  his  wicked 
sons  there  made  their  calling  and  election  sure.  And  the  true 
temple  diminished,  and  finally  by  divine  power  disappeared. 

It  certainly  is  unfortunate  for  the  argument  that  a miracle  has  to 
be  resorted  to  in  order  to  account  for  the  disappearance  of  the  true 
Ark  from  Gerizim;  the  argument  is  plausible  up  to  that  point.  It  is 
difficult  to  understand  why,  if  Eli  made  a 'fictitious  Ark,  the  wrath 
of  God  should  not  rather  have  displayed  itself  in  the  protection  and 
preservation  of  the  true  one  than  in  its  disappearance,  which  mani- 
festly aided  the  imposture.  The  argument  is  more  cogent  when  it 
keeps  clear  of  the  supernatural. 

Samuel,  as  a priest  of  the  same  illicit  sanctuary,  and  a magician, 
carries  the  narrative  on  to  the  time  of  the  monarchy.  Pains  are 
taken  to  give  us  Samuel’s  descent  from  Korah,  “ whom  the  earth 
sNvallowed.”  This  is  almost  needless,  though  appropriate,  in  view 
of  the  alleged  subsequent  behavior  of  Samuel;  who,  more  than  any 
other  man  after  Eli,  is  held  responsible  for  the  division  of  Israel, 
the  setting  up  of  false  shrines,  and  the  establishment  under  David  of 
a modern  and  unauthorized  capital  in  the  city  now  called  Jerusalem. 

The  priests  of  Nob,  who  have  been  difficult  to  identify,  here 
appear  as  Samaritan  priests,  who,  befriending  David  when  he  flees 
from  Saul,  are  heeded  by  him  later  when  but  for  their  warning 
David  would  have  built  a temple  in  Jerusalem;  so  that  David  himself, 
bad  as  he  is  here  represented,  heeded  that  warning  and  that  of  the 
death  of  Uzziah,  and  stopped  short  of  the  sin  of  building  a temple 
in  the  Jebusite  city.  That  act  of  impiety,  however,  was  finally  com- 
mitted by  Solomon,  who  also  built  another  false  temple  for  his 
Egyptian  wife,  and  did  other  gross  and  abominable  acts.  ^ 

The  interest  in  this  narrative  grows  with  the  reflection  that  here 
is  a contemporary  voice  of  antiquity,  calling  for  a rehearing  of  a case 
long  since  decided  by  the  court  of  the  world.  In  some  respects 
it  is  entirely  unique.  Most  of  the  messages  from  the  past  come  to 
us  in  fragments  exhumed  from  ruins;  the  men  who  chiseled  the 
inscriptions  were  buried  beneath  them,  their  own  dust  mingling  with 
their  work.  But  this  isolated  and  almost  forgotten  little  sect,  in- 
stead of  speaking  to  us  from  the  tomb,  shouts  faintly  from  the  top 
of  its  holy  mountain  its  unheeded  protest  against  the  judgment 


8 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


of  the  world.  It  is  certainly  a dramatic  picture  which  this  document 
brings  before  our  vision.  If  Hammurabi  could  rise  from  the  dead 
to  interpret  to  us  his  newly  discovered  code;  or  if  in  the  heart  of 
Mesopotamia  a little  sect  could  be  discovered  with  extant  ceremonies 
and  a living  literature  still  derived  from  the  customs  and  based  on 
the  laws  therein  contained,  and  the  present  head  of  the  community 
could  speak  to  us,  defending  the  code  of  Hammurabi  against  all 
modern  legislation,  it  would  be  hardly  more  dramatic. 

A pathetic  interest  attaches  to  the  fact  that  the  high  priest  will 
rejoice  in  the  publication  of  this  document.  He  cannot  read  it  in 
English,  but  will  know  that  his  book  has  been  faithfully  translated, 
and  that  at  last  his  poor  and  diminutive  sect  has  spoken  to  the 
world  in  defense  of  its  right  to  worship  God  on  Mount  Gerizim. 
Some  copies  will  be  sent  him,  and  if  he  is  able  to  sell  them  for  a 
trifle  to  English-speaking  tourists  who  visit  Nablus,  he  will  have 
succeeded  in  telling  to  a world  of  strange  speech  and  greatly 
altered  customs  the  meaning  of  his  sect,  which  seems  to  the  mod- 
ern visitor  a most  interesting  anacronism. 

The  translation  which  follows  is  of  the  flrst  chapter  of  the  book. 
Whether  the  nine  remaining  chapters,  most  of  which  are  much  more 
brief,  will  be  published  soon,  has  not  yet  been  determined.  A syn- 
opsis of  their  contents  is  given  in  this  chapter,  and  this  one  con- 
tains an  outline  of  the  entire  history  of  the  Samaritans  and  of  the 
argument  on  which  they  base  their  belief.  Interesting  as  some  of 
the  remaining  chapters  are,  this  one  is,  for  practical  purposes,  a 
complete  work.  I have  other  documents  in  my  possession,  and  more 
on  the  way,  which  may  prove  of  sufficient  value  to  warrant  transla- 
tion. 

The  work  of  translation  has  been  performed  for  me  by  Mr.  Ab- 
dullah Ben  Kori,  instructor  in  the  Texas  Christian  University  of 
Waco,  Texas,  who  possesses  intimate  acquaintance  with  modern 
Arabic.  My  thanks  are  due  to  him,  and  to  Professor  Herbert  L. 
Willet,  D.D.,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  who  has  assisted  in 
some  of  the  renderings. 

I acknowledge  the  kindness  of  Dr.  Gaskorn  Wright,  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Hospital  at  Nablus,  who  has  greatly  assisted  me  in  my 
dealings  with  the  high  priest.  The  priest  writes  his  letters  in 
Arabic,  and  takes  them  to  the  mission,  where  they  are  translated, 
and  both  original  and  translation  are  forwarded.  It  is  my  purpose 
to  have  this  history  reprinted  in  pamphlet  form  and  to  present  copies 
to  the  high  priest  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  English-speaking 
tourists.  To  such  I gladly  commend  the  work  which  Dr.  Wright 
is  doing.  I also  acknowledge  the  kindness  of  Mr.  E.  W.  Warren,  of 
Three  Oaks,  Mich.,  whose  interest  in  the  Samaritans  has  been  of 
assistance  to  me. — William  E.  Baetox. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


9 


DEDICATION. 

- In  the  name  of  the  most  merciful  God.  Praise  be  to 
him ; for  he  has  appropriated  for  himself  rulership  and  eternity, 
and  has  clothed  the  mind  of  his  good  worshipers  with  a true 
light,  and  from  the  seas  of  the  abundance  of  his  wisdom  has 
caused  themi  to  drink  until  they  obtained  the  highest  estate  in 
righteousness;  and  has  caused  each  one  of  them  to  ascend  to 
the  highest  degree,  thereby  attaining  paradise,  the  resurrection, 
and  the  meeting-day ; also  he  has  confirmed  their  hearts  in  their 
truthfulness,  being  fully  enlightened  by  his  shining  light,  and 
has  poured  upon  them  the  treasure  of  his  wisdom  in  an  exceed- 
ingly free  manner.  Happy  are  they  because  of  what  he  has 
caused  them  to  drink,  and  because  of  those  who  have  been  gath- 
ered to  them  from  the  sea  of  multitudes,  but  who  are  scattered 
in  this  world.  May  God  make  them  faithful,  and-also  them 
among  those  who  have  imitated  them,  and  among  those  who 
have  taken  hold  of  and  have  become  devoted  to  the  righteous 
Light  of  their  hearts ; and  that  is  not  impossible  to  God.  I 
praise  him  with  the  praise  of  a servant  who  is  sunk  in  sin,  hop- 
ing from  the  kindness  of  his  Personality  pardon  and  forgive- 
ness, hoping  the  entrance  of  the  garden,  for  the  sake  and 
through  the  prayers  of  our  lord  and  our  prophet  Moses,  the 
brother  of  Aaron,  upon  whom  be  the  best  commendation  of  the 
most  perfect  salutation. 

INTRODUCTION. 

It  was  during  the  year  1213  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  [i.  e. 
of  the  Hegira,  or  1885  a.d.],  which  corresponds  to  the  year  3532 
of  the  entrance  of  the  children  of  Israel,  that  there  came  to  our 
country  one  of  the  scholars  of  the  school  of  Oxford  in  the  land 
of  England,  and  remained  in  the  outskirts  of  our  city  Nablus  for 
a period  of  three  days.  He  presented  himself  to  me,  and  asked 
of  me  that  I write  him  the  ceremonies  of  our  religion,  and  the 


10  The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

order  of  our  prayers  at  every  feast,  and  at  the  beginning  of  every 
month,  and  on  the  days  of  the  Sabbath,  as  well  as  on  every  day ; 
and  also  concerning  our  religious  duties  and  customs,  and  about 
the  funerals  of  our  dead  ones,  and  about  the  celebration  of  our 
marriages,  and  the  rest  of  our  customs.  Also  he  desired  to 
know  what  we  do  in  the  Feast  of  our  Passover  in  the  mountain 
of  Gerizim.  I assented  to  his  demand,  and  began  composing 
this  pleasant  book,  and  the  said  book  follows. 

This  servant  says  that  there  came  to  him  several  questions 
from  the  highest  scholars  of  Europe  in  regard  to  the  origin  of 
the  Israelite-Samaritan  religion,  and  concerning  the  orders  of 
their  prayers  in  the  regular  days,  and  the  orders  of  their  pray- 
ers in  the  festival  days,  and  when  the  separation  from  the  Jew- 
ish people  took  place,  and  many  other  questions.  I felt  it  a duty 
to  gather  and  compose  and  write  up  this  book,  and  I divided  it 
in  ten  chapters. 

AN  ANALYSIS  OF  THE  ENTIRE  WORK. 

The  first  chapter  concerns  the  Samaritan  people,  and  from 
which  tribe  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  it  is,  and  concerning  the 
causes  of  their  separation  from  the  Jewish  people,  and  in  what 
time  such  a separation  took  place,  and  concerning  the  causes  of 
their  being  surnamed  with  the  name  of  Samaria,  and  how  great 
was  their  number  when  they  separated  and  set  themselves  apart, 
and  concerning  their  present  number. 

The  second  chapter  concerns  the  belief  of  the  Samaritan  peo- 
ple as  to  the  direction  in  prayer,  which  is  towards  the  mountain 
of  Gerizim,  according  to  the  direction  of  the  blessed  Torah.  It 
also  contains  the  proof  that  this  mountain  is  the  selected  place  of 
the  house  of  God,  and  that  upon  it  the  shekinah  was  placed  dur- 
ing the  life  of  our  lord  Joshua  (upon  whom  be  peace  and  the 
gift  of  divine  favor),  and  that  it  is  the  true  place  of  worship. 
It  contains  also  a reply  to  the  Jews  who  have  denied  it,  and  a 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


11 


refutation  of  their  argument  by  the  written  directions  concern- 
ing it,  inasmuch  as  they  exchange  another  place  in  lieu  of  it. 

The  third  chapter  concerns  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath 
among  the  Samaritan  people. 

The  fourth  chapter  concerns  the  circumcision  and  the  di- 
rections for  it  among  the  Samaritan  people.  It  concerns  also 
the  dilTerences  which  exist  between  them  and  the  Jews  regard- 
ing this  statute,  according  as  the  Samjaritan  people  do  to-day, 
and  have  done  from  ancient  times. 

The  fifth  chapter  concerns  the  reckoning  of  time  among  the 
Samaritans,  and  how  they  find  it  out,  and  their  means  of  ascer- 
taining it.  Also  it  relates  to  the  mention  of  their  feasts,  and 
how  religious  they  become  in  them ; and  the  mentioning  of 
offerings  of  the  Passover,  and  its  obligatory  character  and  its 
observance ; and  also  their  fasts  and  their  visitations  and  morti- 
fications, and  the  differences  regarding  these  matters  which 
exist  between  them  and  the  Jewish  people,  and  the  reply  to  the 
aforesaid  tribe  concerning  its  variations. 

The  sixth  chapter  concerns  the  defilements  and  their  various 
forms,  the  method  of  purification  as  it  is  accepted  by  the  Sa- 
maritans, and  has  been  their  practice  from  ancient  times  until 
to-day. 

The  seventh  chapter  mentions  what  the  Samaritan  people  be- 
lieve concerning  the^  directions  of  what  should  be  slaughtered 
for  food  and  sacrifices  andjts  conditions,  and  what  is  not  al- 
lowed them  from  the  various  kinds  of  fowl,  and  what  is  not 
permissible  for  them  to  eat  from  the  two  kinds  [fowl  and 
beasts]  ; and  what  they  are  required  to  set  apart  from  every  sac- 
rifice, because  it  is  not  permissible  to  eat  it  on  account  of  its 
holiness.  It  tells  their  custom  also  concerning  the  prohibition 
about  castrated  animals,  and.  concerning  the.  prohibition  of 
slaughtering  pregnant  animals  ; and  concerning  the^  prohibition 


12 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


of  blood ; and  the  mentioning  of  the  differences  which  exist  be- 
tween the  Samaritan  people  and  the  Jews  in  these  matters,  and 
the  method  they  follow  in  these  regards,  and  what  they  practice 
at  the  present  time. 

The  eighth  chapter  concerns  the  mention  of  the  law  of  mar- 
riage as  it  is  observed  b^  this  people,  and  who  of  the  women  is 
allowed  to  be  married,  and  who  is  not,  and  what  is  essential  in 
the  observance  of  the  law  of  marriage,  and  concerning  who 
should  be  divorced,  and  the  method  they  follow  in  these  matters, 
even  in  these  days. 

The  ninth  chapter  affirms  the  unaltered  character  of  the  Torah 
among  the  Samaritan  people,  and  that  the  blessed  Torah  which 
is  in  their  hands  has  never  suffered' any  alteration,  and  that  it 
is  unchanging  in  its  requirements;  and  has  never  been  altered 
throughout  the  ages. 

The  tenth  chapter  concerns  the  dead  among  the  Samaritan 
people  and  the  necessary  things  accompanying  it,  and  concern- 
ing their  belief  in  the  meeting-day,  and  concerning  the  condition 
of  man  from  the  time  of  his  departure  from  this  earth  until  God 
shall  bring  him  back  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  concerning 
the  veracity  of  their  belief  as  to  the  days  when  questions  shall  be 
asked  and  accounts  shall  be  rendered,  and  when  rewards  shall 
be  given  and  punishments  administered  as  it  is  affirmed  by  the 
plain  statements  of  the  law  and  traditions,  -according  as  it  is 
accepted  to-day,  and  God  knows  best. 

First  Chapter: — Concerning  the  origin  of  the  Samari- 
tan PEOPLE  AND  FROM  WHAT  TRIBE  OF  THE  TRIBES  OF  ISRAEL 
THEY  ARE,  AND  CONCERNING  THE  CAUSES  OF  THEIR  SEPARA- 
■ TION  FROM  THE  JEWISH  PEOPLE,  AND  WHEN  THEY  SEPA- 
RATED AND  TURNED  ASIDE  FROM  THEM,  AND  CONCERNING  THE 
CAUSES  WHICH  LED  TO  THEIR  SURNAMES  WITH  THE  WORD 

“ Samaria,"''  and  concerning  their  number  at  present. 
What  this  Book  will  Undertake  to  Prove. — What  is  an  af- 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans.  13 

firmed  fact  among  the  aforesaid  Samaritan  people  is  that  they 
are  of  the,  children  of  Israel,  and  that  they  are  those  who  have 
remained  faithful  to  the  Law  of  our  lord  Moses  (upon  whom  be 
peace),  and  they  are  those  who  still  cling  to  the  five  books,  which 
have  descended  through  him,  and  are  called  the  Torah,  without 
alteration  and  without  accepting  the  addition  to  and  the  sub- 
traction from  it,  and  that  the  Torah  which  is  in  their  hands  is 
the  true  original  and  faultless  Torah  in  all  its  sentences,  pro- 
nunciations, and  its  style.  In  favor  of  this  they  can  adduce  a 
strong  argument,  which  shall  be  stated  later  on.  They  have  also 
a strong  reply  to  the  Jewish  people  as  to  their  claim!  that  the 
Samaritans  are  not  of  Israel,  of  which  an  account  shall  be  given 
in  this  chapter. 

The  Samaritans  the  True  Israelites. — The  origin  of  this  peo- 
ple is  of  the  tribe  of  our  lord  Joseph  (upon  whom  be  peace), 
who  are  the  descendants  of  Ephraim  and  Manasseh.  Their 
priests  are  of  the  house  of  Levi,  the  descendants  of  Aaron  (upon 
whom  be  peace).  Once  there  followed  this  people  some  of  the 
other  tribes,  though  now  there  is  none  among  them  who  is  not 
from  the  tribe  of  our  lord  Joseph  (upon  whom  be  peace),  ex- 
cepting the  family  of  the  priesthood,  which  is  of  the  tribe  of 
Levi,  as  w^e  have  already  stated. 

Gerizim  the  Original  Holy  Place. — Now  the  causes  of  their 
separation  from  the  remnant  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  and  the 
causes  of  their  attachment  to  the  faith  which  they  now  have  and 
which  differs  in  many  points  from  the  faith  of  the  Jews  are 
many.  The  principal  cause  happened  during  the  life  of  Eli,  the 
priest,  who  lived  in  the  year  280  of  the  entrance  of  the  children 
of  Israel  into  the  land  of  Canaan.  For  when  the  children  of 
Israel  (according  to  the  chronicles  with  the  Samaritan  people) 
entered  the  holy  land,  their  high  priest  was  the  wise  Eleazar  the 
son  of  Aaron  (upon  whom  be  peace).  His  place  of  dwell- 


14 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


ing  was  in  Gerizim,  where  he  served  in  the  tabernacle,  which  was 
built  in  the  wilderness,  according  to  the  commandments  of  the 
Truth  (may  He  be  extolled),  and  according  to  the  plan  of 
our  lord  Moses  (upon  whom  be  peace),  as  it  was  given  him 
from  Him  (may  He  be  extolled).  Those  who  made  its  vessels 
were  the  wise  men  Bezaleel  and  Eliab,  and  other  skilled  men 
who  joined  in  with  them,  as  it  is  narrated  in  the  Holy  Torah. 

This  tabernacle  our  lord  Joshua  (who  is  the  first  among  the 
the  blessed)  built  upon  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  according  to 
the  divine  commandment  which  was  given  to  our  lord  Moses 
(upon  whom  be  peace).  The  tabernacle  was  built  upon  this 
mountain  six  years  after  the  entrance  of  the  children  of  Israel 
into  the  Holy  Land.  It  remained  in  this  mountain  throughout 
the  life  of  our  lord  Eleazar,  during  the  life  of  our  lord  Phine- 
has,  his  son,  and  during  the  life  of  our  lord  Abishua,  his  son, 
and  during  the  life  of  his  son,  our  lord  Shesha,  and  during  the 
life  of  his  son,  our  lord  Bacha. 

The  Succession  of  the  Priesthood. — And  after  Bacha,  the 
high  priest,  there  came  our  lord  Aza  (upon  them  be  peace),  and 
when  the  aforesaid  Aza  became  the  high  priest,  the  number  of 
his  years  was  twenty-three,  and  during  his  leadership  the  di- 
rector of  the  taxes  and  the  director  of  the  sacrifices  upon  the 
stone  altar  ( which  was  outside  of  the  tabernacle,  according  as 
it  was  corntmanded  to  be  built  in  this  mountain,  and  not  to  be 
confused  with  the  brazen  altar,  which  was  within  the  temple) 
was  Eli,  of  whom  mention  has  been  already  made.  He  was  of 
the  family  of  Aaron,  that  is  of  the  sons  of  our  lord  Ithamar,  a 
brother  of  our  lord  Eleazar  (upon  whom  be  peace),  and  was 
well  advanced  in  years,  for  his  age  at  that  time  was  sixty  years. 

And  at  that  time  the  high-priesthood  was  to  fall  upon  the  de- 
scendants of  the  family  of  Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son 
of  Aaron  (upon  them  be  peace),  as  it  is  clearly  indicated  in  the 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


15 


book  of  Numbers,  the  twenty-fifth  chapter,  the  eleventh  verse, 
where  it  is  stated  “ Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  the  son  of 
Aaron  the  priest,  has  turned  away  my  wrath  from  the  children 
of  Israel  through  his  zeal,  which  is  like  unto  my  zeal,  against 
their  sins  ; therefore,  I did  not  destroy  them  to  their  last  by  mine 
anger,  and  for  this  I have  said  to  him.  Behold?  I have  given 
him  a covenant  of  peace  ] and  it  shall  be  a covenant  of  priesthood 
to  him,  and  to  his  descendants  after  him,  until  the  last  from  his 
loins,  an  eternal  testament  of  priesthood.’  Finis”  (and  this  quo- 
tation is  translated  from  the  Hebrew).  Therefore,  the  high- 
priesthood  became  settled  upon  the  house  of  our  lord  Phinehas 
(upon  whom  be  peace).  And  thus,  when  the  high  priest  Bacha 
died,  his  son  Aza  became  his  successor.  Thus  the  aforesaid  Eli 
became  the  one  who  offered  burnt  offerings  upon  the  stone  altar, 
and  under  his' supervision  were  the  revenues  and  tithes,  and  he 
was  second  in  authority  over  the  house  of  Levi;  but  the  high 
priest  Aza  was  over  him,  and,  as  it  has  been  already  stated,  the 
high  priest  was  younger  in  years  than  he.  Eli  became  rich 
through  the  surplus  of  the  revenues,  which  were  under  his  su- 
pervision ; and  therefore,  he  was  inclined  to  take  away  the  high- 
priesthood  from  the  high  priest  Aza,  that  he  might  be  greater 
than  he,  on  account  of  his  greater  age  and  on  account  of  the  fact 
that  the  high  priest  Aza  was  younger  than  he. 

The  Advent  of  Sorcery  into  Israel. — It  happened  that,  nine 
years  before  Aza  became  high  priest,  the  king- judge  of  Israel, 
Antael,  passed  to  the  mercy  of  God,  and  the  fame  of  this  king 
grew,  and  became  very  well  known  as  to  courage  and  rulership. 
Therefore,  the  captainship  of  the  armies  fell  upon  Samson.  He 
was  a heroic  man  and  of  great  strength.  He  became  engaged 
in  miany  wars  and  quarrels,  and  greatly  afflicted  the  nations 
round  about,  and  destroyed  many  nations  in  those  times.  For 
these  reasons  the  conditions  of  the  children  of  Israel  were 


16 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


changed,  and  their  purposes  became  different  and  their  plans 
became  rotten,  with  the  change  of  heart  of  the  aforesaid  Eli. 

And  there  appeared  among  the  children  of  Israel  certain 
groups  of  men  who  were  inclined  to  follow  the  licentioiis  things, 
and  who  fraternized  with  the  Gentiles  and  intermarried  with 
them.  And  those  who  paid  attention  to  religion  were  very  few, 
some  of  them  separated  themtselves,  and  followed  other  gods  of 
the  gods  of  strangers,  and  worshiped  them,  and  were  led  astray. 
Great  negligence  as  to  the  conversion  of  these  apostates  was  evi- 
dent. Every  one  of  them  was  busied  with  his  worldly  affairs ; 
and  when  God  knew  their  evil  purposes,  and  the  change  in  their 
conditions,  he  incited  against  them  their  enemies.  Therefore; 
these  enemies  planned  to  take  vengeance  against  them.  And 
they  read  in  the  books  of  Balaam  that  those  peoples  could 
neither  be  corrupted  nor  destroyed  except  through  their  faith 
in  sorcery  and  their  following  it;  and  that,  just  as  they  had  be- 
come defiled  by  their  sorcery  and  had'denied  their  law,  then  their 
rottenness  would  become  apparent  through  it,  and  their  destruc- 
tion would  be  possible.  Therefore,  they  began  to  discover  all 
matters  belonging  to  sorcery,  and  they  sent  a party  of  those  who 
had  knowledge  of  that  art,  and  sped  them  to  the  land  of  the 
children  of  Israel.  They  arrived  and  entered,  and  went  in  and 
out  among  them,  and  there  was  none  who  could  hold  back  the 
crowds  from  them';  and  corruption  became  prevalent  even 
among  the  priests.  And  to  some  of  those  who  were  prodigal, 
and  who  were  wise  iii  the  \vays  of  the  world,  the  sorcerers  dis- 
closed the  art  of  sorcery.  They  entered  into  it  heartily  and 
learned  its  methods,  and  their  number  was  increased  until  it  be- 
came a hundred  men,  and  they  abandoned  the  right  way  of  pray- 
ing toward  the  noble  mountain,  that  is  the  mountain  of  Gerizim, 
and  they  worshiped  there  the  foreign  gods,  and  offered  sacri- 
fices to  the  idols,  and  corruption  rooted  itself  deeply,  and  the 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


17 


Philistines  were  victorious  against  the  hero  Samson,  and  then 
what  was  contained  in  the  souls  appeared. 

The  Apostasy  of  Eli. — In  that  time  a quarrel  took  place  be- 
tween Eli,  the  son  of  Sephna,  of  whom  mention  was  made,  and 
our  lord  Aza,  the  son  of  Bacha.  Eli  wished  to  be  promoted  over 
Aza.  He,  therefore,  began  to  gather  in  his  friends,  and  to  tell 
them  in  a boastful  manner  that  it  was  iio^  decent  for  him  to 
serve  a child.  Said  he,  “ I cannot  suffer  it  upon  myself,  and 
I pray  you  to  refuse  to  submit  yourself  to  him  ” ; and  he  began 
to  bribe,  and  to  induce  them,  until  he  had  a large  party  with 
him. 

They  told  him,  “We  are  yours,  at  your  service,  and  ready  to 
do  your  orders.  Command  us  whatever  you  desire,  for  we  will 
not  disobey  your  word.’’ 

Therefore,  he  caused  them  to  swear  that  they  would  be  his  fol- 
lowers in  all  his  actions ; and  they  made  with  him  a covenant 
to  that  effect.  And  they  proposed  to  him  that  he  should  accom- 
plish his  purpose  through  witchcraft,  because  he  had  learned  it 
from  the  foreigners  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose.  His 
thoughts  were  occupied  all  the  time  with  his  ambition,  but  never- 
theless he  continued  to  offer  sacrifices  upon  the  stone  altar. 

One  day  he  offered  a meal  offering  upon  the  altar  with- 
out salt,  through  forgetfulness,  on  account  of  the  fact  that  his 
thoughts  were  continually  occupied  with  something  else.  Aza. 
the  high  priest,  knew  and  understood  all  that.  Therefore,  he 
rebuked  him,  and  that  made  Eli  angry.  Immediately  his  fol- 
lowers apostatized,  and  all  those  who  were  inclined  likewise,, 
and  there  remained  of  them  among  the  children  of  Israel  only 
those  who  dwelt  near  by  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  of  the  vil- 
lages and  cities  like  Nablus  and  like  Palestine  and  the  regions 
of  Jabesh.  Some  of  them  followed  Aza,  the  son  of  Bacha,  and 
some  of  them  followed  Eli,  the  son  of  Sephna.  Of  them  the 


18 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


tribe  of  Joseph  stood' with  the  high  priest  Aza,  and  some  of  Ju- 
dah and  of  the  tribe  of  Benjamin  stood  for  Eli,  the  son  of 
Sephna. 

Therefore,  Eli  went  to  their  dwelling-places  and  lived  in  Shi- 
loh, hut  the  high  priest  Aza  remained  in  Har  Gerizim;  and  that 
is  how  it  camie  about.  But  the  majority  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael who  were  scattered  in  the  different  places  did  not  know  of 
this  event,  because  they  w ere  too  much  occupied  in  their  worldly 
affairs.  Some  of  them  were  even  devoted  to  idol  worship,  and- 
others  were  in  slavery  to  the  Philistines  and  the  Canaanites. 

When  Eli  arrived  at  Shiloh,  he  dwelt  in  and  fortified  it,  and 
for  these  many  reasons  the  children  of  Israel  became  disunited. 
Eli  used  to  send  any  one  whom  be  knew  of  the  children  of  Is- 
rael to  tell  them  that  he  desired  them  to  come  to  witness  the 
miracles  and  signs  in  Shiloh.  Moreover,  Eli  had  taken  with  him 
many  copies  of  the  writings  of  our  lord  Ithamar  of  the  holy  law, 
and  among  them  he  had  a roll.  He  made  for  it  a chest,  or  an 
ark,  similar  to  the  chest  in  the  tabernacle,  and  he  overlaid  it 
with  gold,  and  made  for  it  a lid,  with  cherubim,  according  as  it 
was  in  the  tabernacle.  He  claimed  that  it  was  the  ark  of  the 
testimonies,  and  that  he  got  hold  of  it  by  divine  means.  There 
gathered  about  him  a large  crowd  in  Shiloh,  and  he  built  small 
places  of  worship,  and  he  fashioned  in  Shiloh  everything  like 
the  noble  tabernacle,  and  he  built  upon  it  an  altar  after  the  fash- 
ion which  is  in  the  holy  tabernacle,  and  the  people  who  followed 
him  offered  sacrifices.  He  did  not  change  any  of  the  Torah, 
which  is  the  five  books  of  Moses,  but  he  claimed  for  the  worship 
of  God  a different  place  instead  of  the  true  one,  saying  that 
this  was  by  the  command  of  God,  according  to  his  pretension, 
and  therefore  (as  he  claimed)  he  removed  the  ark  of  testi- 
monies from  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  and  built  for  it  a taber- 
nacle in  Shiloh. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans.  ' 19 

The  Disappearance  of  the  Tabernacle. — Now,  because  the 
children  of  Israel  rebelled  against  the  commandments  of  God, 
and  because  they  have  become  disunited,  the  Lord  (may  he  be 
extolled)  hid  the  holy  tabernacle  from  their  sight,  and  the 
story  of  its  disappearance  will  be  narrated  later  on. 

When  Eli  learned  of  the  disappearance  of  the  aforesaid  tab- 
ernacle, his  influence  became  great,  and  he  affirmed  that  the 
tabernacle  which  he  had  built  was  the  ancient  tabernacle ; and 
a majority  of  the  children  of  Israel  began  to  follow  him,  and  to 
go  to  his  tabernacle,  with  the  exception  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
and  all  those  who  had  remained  in  the  service  of  the  high  priest 
Aza,  and  the  tribe  of  Levi.  And  since  those  days,  and  during 
these  present  times,  the  aforesaid  tribe  has  differed  from  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  remaining  true  to  the  mountain  of  Gerizim  and 
true  to  the  house  of  Aza,  and  they  and  all  their  friends  remained 
dwelling  in  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  continuing  to  be  favorable 
to  Aza,  and  refusing  to  follow  Eli.  Enmity  arose  between  the 
followers  of  Eli  and  the  followers  of  Aza,  and  it  became  so 
great  that  even  religion  differed  among  them,  mention  of  which 
will  be  made  later  on. 

Eli  and  his  Sons. — Now  let  us  return  to  the  mention  of  Eli 
and  his  family.  Eli  had  two  sons,  one  of  them  was  called 
Hophni  and  the  other  was  called  Phinehas.  Seeing  the  rebel- 
lion of  their  father,  they  followed  him.  They  were  sons  of, Be- 
lial. They  used  to  gather  the  women  beautiful  to  look 
upon,  and  did  shameful  things  with  them,  and  used  also 
to  feed  them  of  the  holy  offerings  of  their  tabernacle.  They 
‘had  no'  fear  of  God,  and  knew  not  the  duties  of  priesthood 
toward  the  people.  And  when  a man  of  their  people  came  to  the 
tabernacle  to  offer  sacrifices,  those  children  used  to  gO'  and  take 
the  meat  before  the  dedicated  portion  was  taken  from  it,  and 
used  to  feed  from  it  any  one  at  will,  and  no  one  prevented  them. 


20 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


Their  actions  were  therefore  displeasing  to  God,  and  their  sins 
were  exceedingly  great.  In  spite  of  that  their  father  never  tried 
to  turn  them  away.  The  highest  and  most  respectable  persons 
of  the  Samaritan  nation  who  were  then  in  those  regions  wit- 
nessed all  those  actions,  and  they  have  in  their  histories  a longer 
narrative  in  which  the  history  of  these  two  children  and  that 
of  their  father  Eli  is  mentioned. 

During  the  life  of  their  father  the  children  of  Israel  were  -di- 
vided into  three  sections.  One  division  followed  the  laws  and 
customs  of  the  Gentiles  and  worshiped  their  gods,  another  di- 
vision followed  amusements  and  sports,  and  another  di- 
vision remained  with  Eli ; but  one  division  followed  the  great 
high  priest  Aza.  They  continued  to  visit  the  sacred  mountain. 
Therefore  their  conditions  were  changed,  and  there  came  about 
the  vengeance  of  God  which  befell  them.  Their  eyes  became 
blinded,  the  angels  of  God  left  themj;  inspiration  was  taken  away 
from  their  leaders,  and  the  holy  light  which  used  to  appear 
within  the  holy  tabernacle  disappeared ; and  the  divine  fire  which 
never  was  missed  whenever  sacrifice  was  offered  went  away. 
And  upon  them  was  fulfilled  the  threatening  which  is  recorded 
in  the  Torah,  according  to  the  saying  in  the  book  of  Deuter- 
onomy, chapter  thirty-one,  verse  eighteen : “ I shall  surely 

cause  to  hide  my  presence  from  them  on  that  day  on  account  of 
the  wickedness  which  they  have  done,  because  they  erred  in  fol- 
lowing strange  gods.” 

Details  of  the  Hiding  of  the  Tabernacle.— when  this 
took  place,  their  number  amounted  to  over  seventy  thousand 
persons.  They  stayed  by  the  high  priest  Aza  and  defended  him  , 
and  there  is  an  account  of  this  also  in  the  history  of  the  Samar- 
tan  people.  And  when  this  separation  took  place  and  corrup- 
tion prevailed,  the  anger  of  God  was  great,  and  he  caused  the 
holy  tabernacle  to  disappear  which  was  upon  Mount  Geri- 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


21 


zim,  because  it  was  of  no  value.  And  the  history  of  its  disap- 
pearance is  as  follows : 

The  high  priest  Aza  used  to  go  into  the  temple,  and  once, 
while  he  was  going  according  to  his  custom,  he  saw  nothing  of 
the  former  signs  of  God’s  pleasure,  and  behold  there  was  black 
darkness  in  the  house.  He  was  frightened.  This  took  place 
on  Monday  morning  of  the  completion  of  the  fiftieth.  He  con- 
tinued to  go  into  the  temple  during  iylonday,  Tuesday,  and 
Wednesday ; but  on  Thursday  he  beheld  that  the  darkness  had 
been  greatly  increased  and  extended,  and  had  covered  the  walls 
of  the  place.  He  found  out  also  that  whenever  he  went  into  the 
inner  part  that  portion  disappeared.  And  when  he  went  from 
the  temple  he  saw  there  was  a cave  near  by  the  place,  on  the  site 
of  the  temple,  and  that  cave  was  open,  and  he  had  never  seen  it 
before  that  day,  neither  he  nor  any  of  the  servants  of  the  tern-  # 
pie.  God  revealed  to  Aza  the  high  priest  that  he  should  place 
the  precious  vessels  of  the  tabernacle  inside  of  that  cave,  be- 
cause it  was  evident  that  the  Lord  (may  He  be  extolled)  did  not 
create  such  a cave  in  that  place  except  for  that  purpose.  The  ap- 
pearance of  the  cave  was  quite  an  assurance  to  him,  and  he  saw 
that  it  would  be  right  to  place  the  tabernacle  in  that  cave.  First, 
on  account  of  fear  of  their  enemies,  lest  they  should  come  up,  and 
take  it  violently  from  them,  and  pollute  its  holiness.  Secondly, 
through  the  signs  which  indicated  to  them  that  that  was  the  will 
of  God,  and  as  such  it  ought  to-  be  obeyed.  Thirdly,  because 
there  was  abomination  in  the  observance  of  the  service  of  the 
tabernacle.  The  high  priest  Aza  therefore  began  to  gather  the 
holy  garments,  and  the  vessels  of  gold  and  silver,  and  to  place 
them  in  that  cave.  They  carried  into  the  cave  the  ark  of  testi- 
monies ; and  when  they  had  brought  into  it  all  the  vessels  of  the 
tabernacle,  and  as  soon  as  they  left  it,  the  mouth  of  the  cave 
closed  immediately  by  the  power  of  God.  When  the  high  priest 


22 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


Aza  and  those  who  were  with  him  witnessed  such  a display,  im- 
mediately the  high  priest  began  to  write  upon  the  mouth  of  the 
cave  what  took  place.  When  in  the  morning  of  the  following 
day,  according  to  his  custom,  he  came  to  pray,  and  he  directed 
himself  toward  the  place  where  the  cave  was,  he  did  not  find  it, 
nor  even  one  trace  of  the  writings  which  he  had  carved,  and  the 
word  of  God  was  fulfilled,  inasmuch  as  the  temple  had  been 
hidden. 

• 

Repentance  immediately  took  possession  of  him,  and  he  be- 
gan to  bewail  the  evil  of  his  times,  and  what  had  befallen  him, 
and  what  had  befallen  the  family  of  his  father,  and  what  had  be- 
fallen the  children  of  Israel  in  those  days.  The  Levites,  who 
were  then  his  followers,  together  with  the  leaders  in  Israel, 
gathered  unto  him  when  that  event  took  place,  and  he  made  them 
» acquainted  with  what  had  happened  in  detail,  from  the. begin- 
ning to  the  end. 

When  the  leaders  of  the  children  of  Israel  knew  of  the  wrath 

I 

of  God,  and  of  the  breaking  down  of  the  law,  and  the  belittling 
of  the  holy  tabernacle,  and  that  the  pleasure  of  God  had  disap- 
peared from  among  them,  they  rent  their  garments,  and  they 
cried  aloud,  and  they  began  to  bewail  the  evil  of  their  doings ; 
but  I shall  set  aside  the  narration  of  this  event  in  their  history, 
because  it  fills  the  heart  with  sadness.  That  much  is  for  those 
who  have  kept  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  high  priest  Aza  in 
righteousness.  And  that  took  place  in  the  year  3055  of  the 
creation  of  the  world. 

The  Temple  at  Shiloh. — Let  us  now  return  to  the  mention  of 
what  Eli  the  priest  did  after  he  had  gone  to  Shiloh  in  the  days 
when  God  was  pleased.  There  he  made  for  himself  a shekinah, 
as  we  have  stated,  and  he  made  it  after  the  fashion  of  the  holy 
tabernacle  and  that  was  done  through  his  directions  and  through 
the  direction  of  a man  called  Abalachoh.  They  prospered  in 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritan^. 


23 


their  plans,  for  large  numbers  of  the  children  of  Israel  followed 
them.  But  some  of  the  children  of  Israel  who  were  living  in 
the  regions  round  did  not  know  of  this  event,  and  whenever  they 
came  to  offer  tithes  and  sacrifices,  the  friends  of  Eli  the  priest 
used  to  meet  them  in  the  streets,  and  used  to  take  them  to 
Shiloh  to  the  tabernacle.  And  they  used  to  mislead  them,  and 
to  explain  to  them  that  this  was  the  original  tabernacle ; and 
they  used  to  convince  them,  because  of  their  ignorance  of  facts, 
and  because  they  were  brought  up  among  the  Gentiles.  And 
the  disappearance  of  the  holy  tabernacle  which  was  in  the  holy 
mountain  helped  them  a great  deal.  Praise  be  to  God  who 
does  what  he  wishes. 

Samuel  the  Sorcerer. — Immediately  after  that  event  took 
place,  there  came  to  Shiloh  a man  from  Sophin  of  the  children 
of  Levi  by  the  name  Elkanah,  from  the  family  of  Pahat,  of  the 
children  of  Abisoph,  the  son  of  Korah,  the  son  of  lashar,  who 
rebelled  against  Moses  (upon  whom  be  peace),  and  coveted 
from  him  the  great  high-priesthood  to  take  the  place  of  our 
lord  Aaron  (upon  whom  be  peace),  and  whom,  that  is  Korah, 
the  earth  swallowed.  This  man  Elkanah  was  of  his  seed,' 
and  he  was  the  father  of  Ishmael,  whom  the  Jews  called  Sam- 
uel. His  father  brought  him  to  Eli  to  the  tabernacle,  and  the 
ancestors  of  Samuel  the  son  of  Elkanah,  the  son  of  Nor,  the 
son  of  Azariah,  the  son  of  Haphnia,  the  son  of  Tahat,  the  son 
of  Abiso,  the  son  of  Korah,  who  has  been  mentioned  before. 
There  is  a clearer  narrative  concerning  them  given  in  the  book 
of  history,  but  we  mention  it  briefly. 

When  the  aforesaid  Samuel  grew  and  became  a itian,  Eli 
took  him  and  taught  him  whatever  he  knew,  and  brought  him  up 
according  to  his  plan.  And  he  followed  Eli  in  his  ways  ; because 
his  children  knew  what  their  father  knew,  for  the  ways  which 
he  trod  were  very  clear  to  them,  and  their  rebellious  conduct  be- 


24 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


came  known  among  the  people.  And  some  of  his  people  left  him 
on  account  of  his  evil  doings,  and  the  doings  of  his  children,  who 
have  been  already  mentioned.  Therefore,  he  was  compelled  to 
take  this  young  child  in  their  stead,  in  order  that  he  might  suc- 
ceed him,  because  he  adopted  him  as  his  son.  And  this  Samuel 
was  obedient  to  Eli,  and  he  was  a sorcerer  and  knew  things  well, 
and  was  of  a bright  intellect ; and  he  learned  science  and  astrol- 
ogy through  Abrahmich,  the  greatest  philosopher  of  those  days. 
His  origin  was  from  the  land  of  the  Greeks.  And  the  cause  of 
the  presence  of  this  sorcerer  in  this  land  was  that  when  he  heard 
that  a separation  had  taken  place  between  the  tribes  of  Israel, 
be  took  advantage  of  this,  and  befriended  Eli  and  Samuel. 

And  this  man  Abrahmich  began  to  corrupt  and  to  mislead 
the  children  of  Israel.  He  tried  to  instigate  quarrels  among  them. 
He  did  well  to  some  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  order  that  they 
might  worship  his  gods.  He  taught  them  witchcraft  and  the 
production  of  phenomena.  The  heart  of  Eli  was  indeed  stub- 
born to  turn  aside  from  his  plan,  and  behold  the  result.  They 
learned  from,  him  witchcraft  and  the  production  of  phenomena. 
Even  Samuel  claimed  prophecy,  and  they  believed  his  claim. 
Thus  Samuel  knew  well  the  purpose  of  Eli,  his  nlaster.  There- 
fore, he  remained  in  his  service,  and  obeyed  him,  and  both  of 
them  directed  their  people  after  their  own  directions. 

The  War  with  the  Philistines. — And  when  the  surrounding 
nations  heard  of  the  separation  of  these  peoples,  a great  part  of 
them  who  were  living  then  among  the  children  of  Israel,  as  in 
the  land  of  Palestine  and  Gaza  and  other  places,  planned  to  go 
to  Shiloh,  and  to  make  war  against  Eli,  and  against  his  people 
where  the  seat  of  rulership  was.  Therefore,  a great  part  of  the 
children  of  Israel  joined  them,  and  they  became  known,  and 
their  name  was  familiar  to  all  the  rest  of  the  nations.  Agrainst 
them  there- came  the  army  of  the  Philistines,  and  made  war  with 


25 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

them.  And  Eli  sent  men  to  meet  them,  and  a battle  took  place. 
And  the  men  of  Eli  were  defeated,  and  some  of  them  fled,  and 
some  of  them  were  killed,  about  four  thousand.  Some  of  them 
returned  to  Eli,  and  told  him  that  the  cause  of  the  defeat  was 
that  the  golden  ark  was  not  with  them.  Therefore,  he  gave 
them  the  ark  which  he  had  made  and  his  two  children,  Hophni 
and  Phinehas.  And  they  were  differently  equipped  from  the 
first  time.  The  nations  around  them  surrounded  them  on  all 
sides,  and  they  killed  many  of  them.  They  took  the  golden  ark 
from  them,  and  killed  also  Hophni  and  Phinehas.  And  news  of 
that  event  was  brought  to  Eli  while  he  was  sitting  in  a chair 
near  by  the  gate,  and  they  told  him  that  his  two  sons  had  been 
killed,  and  that  the  golden  ark  had  been  taken  away  from  them, 
and  that  the  sword  was  killing  all  the  people,  as  fire  eats  wood. 
When  Eli  knew  and  understood  and  realized  this  misfortune, 
he  fell  immediately  from  the  chair  on  his  back,  and  his  neck  was 
broken,  because  he  was  old  in  age.  It  is  said  that  he  was  in  that 
time  about  ninety-eight  years  old.  And  when  one  of  his  daugh- 
ters-in-law, the  wife  of  one  of  his  sons,  heard  this,  and  she  was 
with  child,  her  hour  came  to  give  birth  to  the  child,  and  she  died 
suddenly. 

The  Monarchy  under  Saul — Samuel,  the  disciple  of  the  afore- 
said Eli,  came  to  his  people,  and  began  to  preach  to  them,  and 
they  made  him  their  ruler  after  the  death  of  Eli,  and  he  began 
to  display  to  them  his  abilities.  And  he  beguiled  some  of  them 
through  the  things  which  he  had  been  taught  by  his  master,  and 
he  had  many  followers,  and  he  offered  many  sacrifices  in  every 
place  he  desired.  And  he  had  two  sons; the  name  of  the  first- 
born was  Joal,  and  the  name  of  the  second  Abiah,  tW'O  wicked 
sonsj  who  were  known  for  their  unpleasant  conduct  among  their 
friends. 


26 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


Therefore,  the  people  of  Samuel  came  to  him  and  told  him, 
saying,  “ Behold,  thou  art  old,  and  thy  two  sons  are  not  walking 
in  a straight  way,  and  the  purpose  of  our  gathering  here  is  that 
you  should  elect  for  us  a king  who  shall  judge  for  us  instead  of 
your  sons.” 

This  gathering  displeased  him,  but  in  spite  of  him  he  had  to 
elect  for  them  a man  from  the  tribe  of  Benjamin,  by  the  name  of 
Saul,  and  he  anointed  him  as  king  over  them. 

And  Saul  did  evil  during  his  reign,  and  he  misled  a large  part 
of  the  children  of  Israel  who  followed  him,  and  none  remained 
true  to  the  son  of  Phinehas  who  was  dwelling  in  the  holy 
mountain,  that  is  Mount  Gerizim.  He  was  keeping  up  the 
religious  customs  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph. 

Such  corruption  continued,  and  the  partisanship  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  took  hold  of  them  during  his  reign  until  one  di- 
vision of  them  was  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  another  division 
was  with  his  people  in  Shiloh,  and  another  division  went  neither 
one  way  nor  the  other.  . And  Saul,  the  famous  king  of  the 
children  of  Israel,  did  nothing  except  through  the  command  of 
Samuel.  And  Samuel  and  Saul  and  Jesse  and  David  planned  to 
war  against  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  because  they  did  not  follow  them 
in  Shiloh,  and  because  they  were  not  inclined  toward  their  pur- 
poses, and  because  when  they  were  weak  they  made  peace  with 
the  other  nations  on  account  of  the  great  apostasy  of  Saul  and 
Samuel.  They  made  covenant  with  the  nations,  and  therefore 
the  enmity  became  deeply  rooted  between  them,  and  they  hated 
each  other  terribly.  And  the  people  of  Saul  planned  to  go  and 
destroy  the  tabernacle  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  to  make  their 
place  a desert,  and  to  ruin  their  towns  and  to  leave  no  inhabitants 
therein.  He  therefore  came  with  his  armies  to  the  meadow  of 
Boha,  and  they  surprised  the  tribe  of  Joseph  in  the  Feast  of  Tab- 
ernacles, while  they  were  quiet  and  not  aware  of  their  misfor- 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

tune,  and  they  killed  whomever  they  found,  and  they  went  upon 
different  roads,  and  killed  even  the  high  priest  Shisha,  the  son 
of  the  great  high  priest  Aza,  in  the  great  city  of  Sallum.  They 
killed  and  burned  both  the  great  and  the  sntall  ones,  and  they 
went  up  to  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  and  destroyed  the  place  of 
worship  and  the  stones  of  the  Law,  and  they  took  hold  of  the 
noble  ones  who  fled  to  that  place  and  killed  them,  and  they  re- 
mained for  days  destroying  the  citadel  of  Lozal,  because  it  was 
a great  town,  and  they  camped  in  the  meadow  of  Boha  for  thirty 
days,  and  whomever  they  found  they  killed.  The  tribe  of  Jo- 
seph was  forbidden  to  come  near  Mount  Gerizim  for  a period  of 
twenty-two  years.  They  could  not  make  any  pilgrimages  to  it, 
but  whenever  they  prayed  they  turned  their  faces  toward  it,  but 
some  of  them  used  to  go  to  it  in  secret.  Thus  their  feasts  used 
to  pass  and  to  take  place  without  any  religious  show,  and  the 
Passover  and  the*  Pentecost  and  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles  used  to 
pass  without  any  pilgrimages,  and  the  people  of  Saul  used  to 
go  to  Mount  Gerizim  as  to  any  other  field. 

But  the  Torah,  which  was  among  the  children  of  Israel  in  the 
original  character,  is  still  kept  in  good  condition  among  the 
Samaritan  people,  until  this  day,  with  no  additions  or  diminu- 
tions, and  even  the  Sabbath  and  the  festival  days  are  still  the 
same. 

In  that  distress  which  was  caused  by  the  people  of  Saul,  the 
tribe  of  Joseph  gathered  together  in  the  midst  of  the  night,  and 
planned  to  flee  from  their  enemies,  and  some  of  them  dwelt  with 
the  king  of  Bosas  and  Saisar,  and  the  trace  of  the  rest  of  them 
was  lost  unto  this  day. 

Saul  and  his  three  children  and  the  bearer  of  his  arms  died  in 
one  day,  and  God  avenged  himself  of  him  according  as  he  de- 
served, and  he  took  away  his  kingdom  from  him  and  gave  it  to 


28 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


David,  the  son  of  Jesse,  and  of  that  there  is  another  account,  and 
I do  not  see  the  necessity  of  placing  it  in  this  book. 

The  Reign  of  David  and  the  Removal  of  Eli's  Ark. — David 
ruled  in  the  city  of  Hebron  according  to  the  desire  of  the  tribe  of 
Judah  when  he  was  thirty  years  old,  and  they  brought,  him  to  the 
base  of  Mount  Gerizim,  and  they  gave  him  there  the  kingdom. 
And  David  went  to  war  against  the  Philistines  until  he  took 
from  them  many  cities  and  conquered  the  city  of  Jabish,  which 
is  called  among  the  Jews  ^lia,  but  which  they  called  afterwards 
Jerusalem,  and  they  placed  the  seat  of  his  kingdom  in  it,  and 
he  removed  the  golden  chest  which  Eli  made  in  Shiloh  and 
brought  it  to  the  aforesaid  Jabish.  And  when  he  brought  it  to 
his  place  of  dwelling,  the  priest  who  was  to  receive  it  from  the 
vehicle  was  tossed  by  the  cow  and  he  died.  , That  was  the  cow 
which  was  pulling  the  vehicle.  David  became  exceedingly  sad 
because  of  the  death  of  the  priest,  and  he  immediately  com- 
manded the  chest  to  be  placed  in  the  house  of  one  of  his  men,  and 
they  placed  it  at  the  house  of  a widow,  and  it  remained  with  her 
for  a long  time. 

Reasons  for  David's  not  building  a Temple  in  J erusalem.-^ 
'fhen  the  tribe  of  Judah  came  and  asked  David  to  build  for  them 
a temple  in  order  that  they  might  place  in  it  the  chest  which  was 
with  that  widow.  But  this  news  reached  the  great  high  priest 
who  was  with  the  Samaritan  people,  whose  name  was  Yaire, 
and  he  was  living  in  the  country  of  the  mountain  of  Gerizim 
when  this  news  reached  him.  He  sent  immediately  a notice  to 
David  to  the  effect  that  it  was  permissible  and  necessary  for  him 
to  build  the  temple  upon  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  according  to 
the  writing  found  in  the  Torah,  which  was  with  both  people  be- 
fore alterations  were  made.  And  the  reason  of  the  correspon- 
dence of  Yaire  the  high  priest  with  King  David  -was  the 
acquaintance  which  they  had  with  each  other,  and  the  strong 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


29 


friendship  when  David  fled  from  the  presence  of  Saul,  the  king,^ 
and  used  to  visit  the  aforesaid  high  priest,  and  used  to  go  around 
with  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  used  in  those  days  to  offer  his 
tithes  and  to  fulfill  his  vows  in  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  as  the 
Samaritan  people  copied  in  their  historical  books  from  their 
ancestors. 

So  when  David  became  king,  he  decided  to  build  thejemple 
in  Jabish,  and  so  it  became  necessary  for  the  high  priest  Yaire  to 
remind  the  king,  and  to  exhort.  When  the  aforesaid  correspon- 
dence took  place  between  David  and  the  high  priest  Yaire,  Da- 
vid desisted.  He  refrained  from  building  the  temple  in  the 
city  of  Jabish.  Nevertheless,  he  could  not  differ  from  his  peo- 
ple in  favor  of  the  high  priest  Yaire,  and  therefore  he  explained 
to  Yaire,  and  desisted  from  building  any  temple,  either  in  Jabish 
or  in  the  mountain  of  Gerizim.  He  offered  excuses  to  his  peo- 
ple, and  said  that  God  did  not  want  him  to  build  for  him  a house 
because  he  had  shed  much  blood,  but  the  child  who  should  suc- 
ceed him  he  should  build  a house  for  him.  David  therefore  re- 
frained from  doing  the  work  after  he  had  gathered  together  all 
the  materials  for  building  the  temple  of  gold  and  silver  and 
bronze  and  wood,  and  he  continued  to  do  so  until  he  was  gath- 
ered unto  his  fathers. 

Solomon's  Idolatries.— H.is  wife  Alisha,"  the  wife  of  Ooriah, 
was  the  mother  of  Solomon.  The  latter  became  the  king  of  Is- 
rael after  many  events ; and  when  he  took  hold  of  the  kingdom 
of  Israel  he  reigned  for  a long  time ; and  after  he  had  avenged 
himself  of  many  of  the  children  of  Israel,  and  ruled  over  the 
tribe  of  Joseph,  and  avenged  himself  of  them,  and  oppressed 
them,  he  began  to  sacrifice  wherever  he  wanted  on  the  high 
places ; and  learned  philosophy  and  many  other  sciences ; and 
was  married  unto*  many  Amorite,  Moabite,  Canaanite,  and  Sid- 

^ Cf.  1 Sam.  xxi.  1-7. 

‘ Batlisheba,  wife  of  Uriah. 


30 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


onite  women,  and  he  took  for  himself  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh, 
the  king  of  Egypt,  and  it  is  said  that  he  had  of  women  one 
thousand.  There  is  another  account  of  him  in  the  historical 
book  of  those  j>eople,  and  he  weakened  exceedingly  the  tribe 
of  Joseph. 

All  the  kings  of  the  earth  were  subject  unto  him,  and  he 
gathered  much  money  until  he  became  hard-hearted,  and  the 
year  of  his  sitting  upon  the  throne  of  the  kingdom  in  lieu  of 
his  father  was  the  480th  of  the  exit  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
which  is  .the  one  hundred  and  twentieth  year  of  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  temple  from  the  mountain' of  Gerizim.  In  the 
fourth  year  of  the  aforesaid  king,  he  began  to  build  the  tem- 
ple, whose  foundation  his  father  David  had  dug  in  the  thresh- 
ing-place of  the  Jebusites.  And  he  built  a large  temple,  and 
he  spent  all  his  funds  in  doing  it.  And  he  made  in  the  afore- 
said temple  seven  candlesticks  of  gold,  because  the  vessels 
which  Eli  the  priest  had  made  in  his  temple  in  Shiloh  were 
stolen  by  the  Canaanites,  and  • nothing  was  left  except  the 
chest  which  he  had  made.  But  Solomon  made  seven  of  that 
kind  of  vessel,  and  he  plastered  the  walls  of  the  temple  and  its 
roof  and  ground-floor  with  gold,  and  he  made  in  it  the  images 
of  all  the  birds,  and  he  built  this  temple  and  placed  it  over 
wheels  well  fashioned,  in  order  that  he  might  move  it  where- 
ever  he  chose.  Solomon  built  this  temple  through  the  genii, 
and  he  built  for  himself  a judgment-seat,  whose  description 
is  beyond  the  power  of  the  tongue  of  man.  And  he  built  a 
house  for  the  daughter  of  Pharaoh  through  one  hundred  and 
seven  of  his  workmen.  And  he  made  three  hundred  towers  of 
gold  and  silver.  And  when  the  dedication  of  the  temple  took 
place  he  oflfered  on  the  altar  twelve  thousand  sheep  ^ as  a sac- 
^ This  is  one  tenth  the  number  given  in  1 Kings  viii.  G3  and 
1 Chron.  vii.  5.  It  will  be  remembered  that  Kings  and  Chronicles 
sometimes  present  this  discrepancy  of  a tenfold  difference. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


31 


rifice,  and  he  gathered  all  his  subjects,  and  he  distribute(i 
among  them  offerings,  and  he  placed  the  chest  of  gold  in  the 
temple,  which  Eli  the  priest  had  made. 

But  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  of  the  house  of  Phinehas,  and 
all  those  who  gathered  among  them,  did  not  incline  toward 
him,  and  did  not  surrender  to  his  command.  And  when  King 
Solomon  saw  that  the  tribe  of  Joseph  refused  to  obey  his 
command,  he  immediately  caused  to  rule  over  them  the 
naughty  Jeroboam,  and  the  aforesaid  became  their  ruler,  and 
he  was  a terrible  ruler.  When  he  ruled  over  them  he  took 
away  their  possessions  from  them,  and  gathered  much  money 
from  them,  and  afterwards  he  rebelled  against  Solomon 
throughout  all  his  life,  and  caused  them  to  be  persecuted,  and  he 
caused  them  to  serve  him. 

The  Reign  of  Rehoboam — And  when  Solomon  the  king 
died,  his  people  claimed  that  the  temple  which  he  had  built 
by  the  command  of  God  was  visited  by  fire  from  him  above, 
and  had  devoured  ail  the  offerings  which  he  had  offered  in  it, 
and  they  claimed  that  Jabish  is  the  chosen  place,  and  that  it  is 
related  to  the  mountain  of  Gerizim.  This  has  been  what  they 
have  believed  from  time  immemorial.  And  when  King  Solomon 
died,  his  people  took  his  son  Rehoboam  and  brought  him  to 
the  regions  of  Joseph  to  the  plain  of  Boha,  which  was  at  the, 
base  of  Mount  iGerizim,  to  deliver  to  him  the  kingdom  there, 
following  in  that  manner  the  law  of  our  lord  Joshua  (upon 
whom  be  peace),  that  none  should  be  crowned  as  king  except 
in  the  aforesaid  valley.  Thus  they  used  to  come,  all  of  them, 
as  it  has  been  declared  to  the  children  of  Israel  and  their  chiefs 
of  authority,  for  this  is  what  has  been  written  in  the  holy  law 
according  to  the  apostle  (upon  whom  be  peace),  that  is, 
“There  shall  be  a king  only  when  the  children  of  Isarel  gather 
together  with  their  chief  men.”  According  to  the  edict  that 


32  The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

this  gathering  must  transpire  in  this  place,  they  came  to  it, 
and  they  immediately  sent  for  Rehoboam,  and  for  the  chief  men 
of  Israel,  and  the  chief  men  of  Joseph,  who  were  true  to  the 
law,  and  they  all  came. 

And  when  Rehoboam  arrived  at  Nablus  to  be  crowned 
there  amidst  the  children  of  Israel,  for  many  had  been  led 
astray  by  him,  they  said  to  him,  “If  you  will  make  light  the 
yoke  which  your  father  made  heavy  upon  us,  and  if  you  will 
obey  the  commandments  of  God,  we  will  obey  you  and  serve 
you,  and  be  ready  to  do  your  words.” 

And  he  answered  them,  “Come  and  return  after  three  days.” 
So  the  people  went,  and  after  that  Rehoboam  gathered  the 
chief  men  who  lived  during  the  days  of  his  father,  and  asked 
them,  “What  would  you  counsel  me  to  answer  this  people?” 
and  they  answered  him,  “If  thou  wilt  be  kind  to  them,  they 
will  obey  you  and  will  serve  you.” 

But  he  despised  the  council  of  the  elders,  and  gathered  the 
young  m.en  who  were  brought  up  with  him ; and  as  they  stood 
before  him,  he  asked  their  advice  concerning  the  same  matter. 
He  asked  them  whether  he  should  make  light  upon  them  the 
yoke  which  his  father  made  heavy. 

And  the  young  men  answered  him  in  this  manner,  “ Thy 
reply  shall  be,  ‘ My  little  finger  is  heavier  than 'the  thigh  of  my 
father,  and  if  my  father  has  caused  you  to  bear  a heavy  yoke, 
I will  add  to  your  yoke  an  additional  weight.  My  father  has 
chastised  you  with  a whip,  but  I will  chastise  you  with  scorpi- 
ons.’ ” 

When  the  people  asked  their  answer  from  him,  he  replied  to 
them  with  these  words,  with  all  cruelty,  and  he  let  alone  the 
advice  of  the  elders,  and  when  the  people  saw,  and  beheld  his 
cruel  reply,  they  replied  to  him  with  one  word,  and  they  told 
him,  “ There  is  no  portion  in  David  and  no  share  to  us  in  Jesse, 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


33 


and  none  of  us  will  remain  with  you.  Thou  art  not  to  us  a 
king,  and  we  are  not  to  thee  servants.  Come,  let  us  go  to  our 
tents,  O Israel,  and  oh,  thou  son  of  David,  go  to  thy  tribe!” 

Thus  the  children  of  Israel  returned  to  their  places,  and  Re- 
hoboam  returned  to  his  city  and  to  the  city  of  his  grandfather, 
David,  and  he  ruled  over  his  city,  and  when  he  felt  that  his 
kingdom  was  being  destroyed,  and  that  the  people  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  had  left  him,  he  sent  messages  to  his  minister 
Adoram  to  the  people  of  the  children  of  Israel  in  order  to  cause 
them  to  return  according  to  the  advice  which  the  elders  had 
given  him  from  the  beginning.  And  when  this  messenger  ar- 
rived, and  began  to  deliver  to  them  the  story,  they  immediately 
began  to  stone  him  with  stones. 

When  this  news  reached  Rehoboam,  he  immediately  began 
to  fortify  himself,  being  afraid  of  destruction  in  the  city  of  his 
own  kingdom,  Jabish. 

The  Conquest  of  Jeroboam— And  when  Jeroboam  heard  of 
the  disappointment  of  Rehoboam,  he  immediately  became 
courageous,  and  returned  to  Nablus,  and  conquered  those  re- 
gions, and  won  to  his  side  a majority  of  the  tribes,  and  his 
authority  extended,  and  he  oppressed  his  enemies,  and  ruled 
over  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  the  family  of  Phinehas  the  faith- 
ful one.  And  he  tortured  them  with  all  kinds  of  tortures,  not 
doing  so  to  the  rest  of  the  tribes  because  they  turned  against 
them.  So  he  avenged  himself  of  them,  and  killed  of  them  a 
great  number,  and  his  tyranny  was  greater  than  the  tyranny 
of  David. 

And  the  children  of  Israel  were  at  that  time  in  three  di- 
visions. One  division  used  to-  swear  by  Mount  Gerizim, 
another  division  used  to  sw'ear  by  the  name  of  Jabish,  and  a 
third  division  was  in  love  with  the  worship  of  idols,  standing 
by  themselves,  and  a fourth  division  stood  with  Jeroboam,  who 


34 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


went  to  the  city  of  Sabastaba,^  and  he  made  it  his  capital,  and 
placed  in  it  a high  priest,  and  led  astray  with  him  six  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel.  He  also  was  ruling  over  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
which  was  the  .Samaritan  people,  and  ruled  over  them  with  a 
heavy  hand.  Nevertheless,  they  were  not  induced  to  follow 
his  plans,  and  they  warred  against  him  several  times.  And 
they  remained  faithful  to  their  religion,  and  held  fast  to  the 
laws  of  Moses  (upon  whom  be  peace),  and  to  the  laws  of 
Joshua  and  his  successor.  And  whenever  he  compelled  them  to 
depart  from  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  they  used  to  return  to 
it  whenever  they  had  opportunity,  and  when  they  were  com- 
pelled to  live  far  away  from  it,  they  used  to  turn  toward  it  in 
their  prayers,  as  did  their  great  father,  our  lord  Abraham 
(upon  whom  be  peace). 

The  False  Claim  of  Jeroboam: — But  Rehoboam  and  his 
people,  who  were  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  a few  from  the 
other  tribes,  when  they  returned  to  the  city  of  David,  which  is 
the  city  of  Jabish,  they  claimed  that  it  was  the  holy  place,  and 
that  there  is  no  other  holy  place  beside  it,  and  they  surnamed 
it  Jerusalem.  When  they  became  numerous  through  other 
tribes,  their  brothers,  the  children  of  Israel,  did  not  like  it, 
and  there  took  place  many  wars  between  them  on  account  of 
this  claim.  That  city  was  destroyed  often,  and  its  inhabitants 
were  killed,  and  the  tribe  of  Judah  did  not  dare  to  rebuke  the 
temple,  which  was  founded  by  Solomon  in  the  threshing- 
place  of  the  Jebusites,  where  they  used  to  offer  their  sacrifices, 
and  followed  the  customs  of  their  ancestors.  But  in  the 
Torah,  the  five  books  which  descended  to  them  through  our 
lord  Moses  (upon  whom  be  peace),  there  is  no  indication  of 
the  veracity  of  their  claim  that  it  is  the  one  place  to  which 
^ Sabaste,  the  city  of  Samaria. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans.  35 

direction  in  prayer  should  be  made,  and  that  it  is  the  genuine 
place. 

The  Destruction  of  Jerusalem.— JtrohoSim  and  the  people 
over  whom  he  ruled  were  captured  by  the  Assyrian  kings,  and 
his  cities  were  taken  from  him ; even  TElia.  was  destroyed,  anti 
Sabastaba,  and  all  the  children  of  Israel  became  enslaved,  and 
their  villages  were  taken.  And  after  Sabastaba  was  destroyed 
and  was  ploughed  like  a field,  a man  from  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
who  was  wealthy,  bought  that  city  from  one  of  the  princes  of 
the  Assyrians.  His  name  was  Samar,  and  some  of  the  Assy- 
rians who  lived  among  the  children  of  Israel  to  this  day  called 
Shamaroneen,  and  they  lived  near  by  the  aforesaid  Sabastaba, 
which  was  bought  by  the  Israelitish  man  from  the  aforesaid 
Samar  for  two  talents  of  silver.  He  built  up  some  of  its 
destroyed  places,  and  he  dwelt  in  it,  he"  and  his  people,  for 
lone  time,  and  thus  the  name  Samaria  was  given  it,  which 
was  the  name  of  the  city,  because  it  was  called  Samaria  on 
account  of  the  fact  that  the  man  who'  took  it  by  violence  was 
called  Samar,  and  thus  its  original  inhabitants  were  called. 

The  Babylonian  Exile.— Thtn  the  Ammonites  destroyed  for 
the  second  time  that  city.  That  was  in  the  days  of  Joakim.^ 
That  was  almost  in  the  same  days  as  when  Bachtnasar,^  the 
king  of  the  Persians,  was  ruling.  This  king  was  living  in  the 
regions  of  Orak,  and  Joakim  was  governor  over  the  children 
of  Israel  through  his  will.  Then  Bachtnasar  came  to  the  land 
of  the  Israelites,  and  besieged  ^lia,  because  it  was  well  fortified, 
and  he  conquered  it,  and  he  despoFled  it,  and  all  its  vessels. 
And  he  exiled  the  priests  and  elders  of  Israel,  and  removed 
the  tribe  of  Joseph  from  those  regions  in  which  they  were 
living  to  the  land  of  Babel.  And  he  also  exiled  the  rest  of  the 
tribes  of  Israel,  and  commanded  them  to  go  into  the  region  of 


^ Jehoiakim. 


2 Nebuchadrezzar. 


36 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


Haran,  and  thus  all  the  children  of  Israel  were  scattered  in 
those  lands.  And  that  exile  took  place  in  the  year  3550'  of 
the  creation  of  the  world,  according  to  the  reckoning  of  the 
Samaritan  people.  The  king  of  the  Assyrians  killed  every 
one  who  would  not  go  with  him;  thus  many  of  the  children 
of  Israel  were  compelled  to  go  with  him,  even  to  the  land  of 
the  Chaldeans,  and  so  many  terrible  and  great  misfortunes  fell 
upon  the  Israelites  which  the  pen  could  not  write  in  details, 
and  which  could  not  be  measured  by  the  tongue.  And  thus 
the  threatening  was  fulfilled  upon  them  which  is  given  in  the 
book  of  Deuteronomy,  in  the  twenty-eighth  chapter  and 
sixty-second  verse : “ Ye  shall  be  few  in  number,  whereas  ye 

were  as  the  stars  of  heaven  in  multitude,  because  ye  would  not 
obey  the  will  of  the  Lord.”  Their  holy  places  thus  became 
desolate,  and  they  remained  in  that  exile  for  a period  of  sev- 
enty years,  and  one  party  of  the  tribe  of  Israel  returned  to  the 
land  of  Canaan  after  seventy  years,  and  dwelt  in  it. 

The  Immigrants  to  Israel,  and  Their  Hardships. — But  im.-- 
m.ediately  the  Greek  (Ionian)  kings  camie  and  exiled  them 
again,  after  they  had  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Canaan  for  a year, 
one  hundred  and  thirty-one  years,  and  the  king  which  exiled 
them  came  first  against  the  city  of  ^lia,  and  conquered  it,  and 
killed  many  of  its  inhabitants,  and  took  its  women  and  children 
to  the  land  of  Babel,  and  then  departed  for  Samaria  against 
the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  exiled  them.  The  king  of  the  lonians 
'also  induced  foreign  people  to  emigrate  to  the  land  of  Canaan 
instead  of  the  children  of  Israel.  And  the  living  in  Canaan 
became  costly,  and  there  was  a great  famine,  which  continued 
for  a period  of  seven  years,  and  many  perished;  even  the 
ferocious  animals  attacked  them.  Then  they  sent  immediately 

^ This,  instead  of  722,  would  be  740  b.c.,  as  the  Samaritans  reckon 
the  birth  of  Christ  4290  a.m. 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


37 


to  the  king  Sorday/  for  he  was  the  great  king  in  those  days, 
and  he  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Haran.  They  told  him,  sa}ing, 
‘•'The  land  of  Canaan,  where  thou  sent  us  to  dwell,  almost 
caused  us  to  perish,  because  of  the  scarcity  of  the  rain,  and 
because  of  the  unfruitfulness  of  its  land,  and  because  of  the 
ferocious  animals;  and  when  the  rain  falls,  and  some  hope 
is  found,  what  is  planted  immediately  becomes  rotten,  and 
the  olive  trees  throw  down  their  fruit,  and  behold  we  are 
about  to  perish,  and  all  those  who  are  with  us, -even  our 
cattle.”  And  they  asked  him  to  get  information  from  the 
children  of  Israel  who  had  lived  in  that  land  as  to  what  they 
had  done,  in  order  that  this  might  be  averted,  and  the  state 
of  the  earth  which  was  so  unfruitful  might  be  changed ; for 
after' they  had  remained  in  those  conditions  they  feared  thev 
would  all  perish,  no  doubt,  on  account  of  the  exposed  loca- 
tion and  the  audacity  of  the  wild  animals. 

And  when  this  news  reached  the  king  Sorday,  he  imme- 
diately commanded  for  a man  to  go  before  him,  and  that  man 
was  called  Abdullah,  the  leader,  the  high  priest,  and  also  Aza, 
the  son  of  Shamoon,  who  were  among  the  leaders  in  the  tiibe 
of  Joseph,  who  lived  in  Samaria.  And  he.  told  them  that 
news  had  reached  him  from  the  .dwellers  of  the  land  of 
Canaan  of  what  happened  in  it. 

And  the  high  priest  Abdullah,  herald  of  Aza,  the  son  of 
Shamoon,  who  was  among  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph, 
VvTen  he  heard  these  words  from  the  king,  immediately  gave 
him  a reply,  saying,  “Know  ye,  O king,  that  we  have  a holy 
mountain,  called  Mount  Gerizim,  and  it  is  the  house  of  God. 
And  when  our  fathers  came  out  of  Egypt,  and  after  they  had 
lived  forty  years  in  the  wilderness,  and  when  they  entered  the 
land  of  Canaan,  the  Lord  made  them  to  know  that  they  should 

1 Cyrus. 


38 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


make  sacrifices  and  offer  all  their  offerings  in  that  mountain. 
And  throughout  all  the  times  in  which  our  forefathers  offered 
there,  and  in  which  we  offered  after  them,  the  land  continued 
to  be  fruitful.  And  know  ye,  therefore,  that  this  misfortune 
which  has  taken  place  in  the  land  of  Canaan  shall  not  cease 
until  we  return  to  that  mountain  toward  which  we  direct  our- 
selves in  prayer,  and  until  we  arrive  at  it  and  worship*  Allah, 
our  God  (may  he  be  extolled),  and  we  hope  from  him  for- 
giveness, for  he  hears  and  he  answers.  And  may  he  cause 
the  heart  of  the  king  to  be  inclined  toward  us  that  he  may 
permit  us  to  return  to  our  country,  and  to  do  what  is  neces- 
sary for  us  to  do.  We  hope  from  his  kindness  (may  he  be 
extolled),  that  when  this  shall  take  place  none  of  those  things, 
neither  famine  nor  disease,  shall  happen,  and  we  are  promised 
by  God  this  shall  be  so.  And  we  have  a testimony  to*  that 
effect,  for  that  shall  take  place  when  we  return,  as  he  made  us 
to  know  through  his  law,  and  perhaps  he  will  be  gracious  unto 
us  and  return  us  in  his  mercy  to  our  own  land.” 

The  Return  under  Cyrus. — Then  they  revealed  to  him  the 
lines  of  the  law  which  contain  the  threatenings  and  the 
promises  concerning  these  things.  The  king  consequently 
saw  that  it  was  right,  and  the  Lord  God  put  it  in  his  mind, 
and  he  commanded  that  these  things  should  be  done,  and  he 
allowed  the  children  of  Israel  to  return  to  their  land,  that  its 
inhabitants  might  possess  their  own  place,  in  order  that  the 
land  might  be  prosperous,  for  it  was  then  a part  of  his  king- 
dom. He  then  commanded  the  elders  and  the  leaders  of  the 
rest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel  to  go  before  him,  that  he  might 
give  them  permission  to  return  to  their  land,  and  to  build  their 
houses  and  worship.  So  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  and 
their  people,  and  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  who  were 
in  those  days,  came  before  the  king,  and  had  a consultation 


39 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

with  him  concerning  these  matters,  in  order  that  he  might 
issue  for  them  a decree  for  their  return  to  their  land  and  for 
the  building  of  the  house  of  their  worship.  And  the  opinion 
of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  those  who  were  of  the  family  of 
Phinehas,  the  son  of  Eleazar,  and  their  families,  was  that  the 
building  of  the  house  of  worship  and  the  place  of  pilgrimage 
should  be  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  but  the  opinion  of  the 
tribe  of  Judah  and  their  families  was  that  the  building  of  the 
house  of  worship  and  the  place  of  pilgrimage  should  be  in 
^lia,  which  is  the  city  of  David.  But  the  people  of  Joseph 
made  the  king  Sorday  understand  that  what  the  children  of 
Israel  were  commanded  to  do  according  to  the  Torah,  which 
descended  through  our  lord  Moses  (upon  whom  be  peace),  was 
that  the  building  of  the  temple  of  worship  should  be  upon  the 
mountain  of  Gerizim,  and  that  it  should  be  the  place  of  pilgri- 
mage, and  where  all  its  ceremonies  of  worship  should  take 
place,  and  that  the  children  of  Israel  were  commanded  to 
make  pilgrimages  to  if,  and  that  the  Lord  had  chosen  it  from 
the  beginning  in  order  that  his  name  might  be  sanctified  upon 
it.  That  mountain  is  indeed  sanctified;  and  thus  the  people 
of  Joseph  showed  forth  all  the  arguments  as  they  were  found 
in  the  Torah,  and  declared  them  to  the  king  and  before  the 
leaders  of  Judah.  ^ 

Zenihhahel  and  Sanhallat.—Tht  leader  of  the  children  of 
Israel  was  a man  by  the  name  of  Zerubbabel,  the- son  of  Shar- 
shar,  for  he  was  the  one  advanced  over  all  of  them;  but  the 
leader  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph  was  the  high  priest  called  Ab- 
dullah, and  there  was  with  him  Nathaniel  of  the  family  of 
Phinehas.  The  superintendant  over  the  people  of  Joseph  was 
a kind  man  by  the  name  of  Sanballat.  The  aforesaid  was  a 
learned,  wise,  and  strong  man,  and  he  explained  the  argu- 
ments and  defended  his  chance  against  the  people  of  Judali, 


40 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


and  he  refuted  the  pretensions  of  Zerubbabel,  and  maintained 
that  the  mountain  of  Gerizim  is  the  place  toward  which  prayer 
direction  should  be  made.  It  is  the  place  of  worship  and  of 
the  Shekinah  itself,  the  House  of  God,  and  he  made  it  plain, 
proposing  arguments  from  the  statements  of  the  Torah,  the 
laws  which  are  with  both  peoples. 

The  only  answer  the  Jews  gave  him  was,  “ We  have  learned 
from  David  and  Solomon  that  the  temple  which  is  in  ^Tilia  is 
the  place  of  worship  to  which  prayer  direction  should  be 
taken.”  But  they  could  ^ not  bring  an  argument  from  the 
Torah,  for  there  was  none,  since  the  Torah  existed  with  both 
of  them  before  any  alteration  was  made,  and  since  in  it  the 
plain  arguments  proclaiming  as  to  the  mountain  of  Gerizim 
were  as  they  are  still  in  the  Torah,  which  is  among  the  Samari- 
tan people. 

And  when  Sorday  the  king  heard  these  debates  which  took 
place  between  them,  and  when  he  saw  that  the  appeal  of 
Phinehas  and  of  the  people  of  Joseph' was  strong  and  open- 
minded,  and  that  the  claim  of  the  Jews  was  only  backsliding 
and  lies,  with  no  evidence  and  with  no  tradition  to  their  claims, 
the  king  Sorday  said,  “Go  ye,  go  and  build  a temple  in  the 
mountain  of  Gerizim  for  worship.  Go  ye  to  it,  and  build  it.” 

But  Zerubbabel  became  angry  at  these  words,  and  he  showed 
forth  his  tendency  of  refusal,  and  answered  and  said,  “ No, 
indeed,  except  in  Hi^lia,  as  we  have. already  proposed.”  . 

The  king  Sorday  was  wroth  by  the  answer  of  Zerubbabel, 
and  he  became  angry  with  his  people  also,  and  he  rebuked 
him,  and  expelled  him,  and  was  exceedingly  wroth  against 
him,  and  against  all  the  people  of  Judah.  He  called  for  San- 
ballat,  and  advanced  him  and  gave  him  honors,  and  bestowed 
upon  him  the  privilege  of  being  the  ruler  of  the  province  of 
the  regions  of  Canaan,  that  is,  all  Syria,  and  he  gave  him  per- 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


41 


mission  to  return  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  that  he  might  build ^ 
up  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  especially  there  the  temple.  He 
had  authority,  and  he  could  do  as  he  pleased  in  all  that  he  de- 
sired to  be  done,  and  he  kept  the  people  of  Judah  from  going 
back  with  the  rest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel.  The  children  of 
Israel  were  given  the  liberty  of  following  Sanballat  or  of 
remaining  in  the  land  of  Haran  and  Babel. 

From  that  time  a quarrel  took  place  between  Sanballat  and 
Zerubbabel  and  his  people.  And  Sorday  the  king  was  angry 
with  the  people  of  Judah,  and  he  killed  thirty-six  of  their 
leaders,  and  he  honored  the  leaders  of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and 
therefore  the  enmity  became  great,  and  increased  between 
them  and  the  Jews. 

Changes  in  the  Jezvish  Customs. — The  Jews,  however, 
began  to  alter  the  ceremonies  of  their  religion’  to  spite  the 
tribe  of  Joseph,  and  the  differences  began  to  increase,  but 
Sanballat  and  his  people,  and  all  those  who  befriended  .them 
were  joyful  and  happy,  and  many  of  the  children  of  Israel 
joined  them  in  those  times.  Those  who  were  following  the 
counsel  of  Eli,  the  priest,  and  Samuel,  who  were  with  the 
people  of  Zerubbabel,  and  the  number  of  the  people  of  San- 
ballat when  they  returned  from  the  exile,  was  three  hundred 
thousand  men,  with  the  exception  of  women  and  children. 
This  event  took  place  through  the  command  of  Sorday  the 
king,  who  caused  them  to  dwell  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  who 
gave  them  permission  to  return  to  their  country,  though  many 
had  perished. 

The  Return  the  Northern  Tribes. — The  people  of  San- 
ballat arrived  at  the  land  of  Canaan,  and  they  purified  them- 
selves in  the  valley  of  Badan,  and  they  went  up  to  Mount 
Gerizim  and  built  upon  it  a temple,  and  dwelt  round  about,  and 
they  built  it  up  and  they  fortified  it  from  all  points,  and  their 


42 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


leaders  were  of  the  family  of  the  great  high  priest  Abdullah 
and  his  brother  Nathaniel.  They  established  there  an  altar 
whose  length  was  thirty-five  cubits ; and  they  made  a candle- 
stick of  pure  gold,  and  a table  of  gold,  and  displayed  upon  it 
the  shew  bread,  according  to  the  obligatory  command  which 
is  in  the  book,  according  to  the  fashion  which  was  adopted 
during  the  days  of  God’s  pleasure;  and  they  offered  an  offer- 
ing of  one  hundred  head  of  oxen  upon  that  altar,  and  God 
was  pleased  with  them^,  and  God  turned  his  pleasure  upon 
them,  and  God  brought  back  upon  the  Holy  Land  his  blessings, 
and  he  was  gracious  to  the  people.  The  rain  fell  in  showers 
upon  their  plantations,  and  the  land  became  exceedingly  fruit- 
ful, and  they  dwelt  in  the  mountain  of  Gerizim,  and  in  the 
cities  round  about  which  were  in  the  region  of  Ashan  (Syria), 
in  peace  and  in  happiness  during  the  days  of  the  king  S or  day 
until  Abasarwal  became  ruler,  and  reigned  over  the  whole 
land. 

Hostility  between  the  Jews  and  Samaritans. — During  the 
first  days  of  his  reign  he  oppressed  exceedingly  the  Jews  who 
were  in  exile  in  his  country.  Nevertheless,  they  prospered, 
and  brought  him  great  revenues  and  taxes,  and  their  leaders 
became  intimate  with  him,  and  among  them  Zerubbabel  and 
Nehemiah,  the  priest,  who  were  among  the  elders  of  the  Jews 
in  those  days.  And  they  bribed  him  with  a great  sum  of 
money,  and  they  served  him  faithfully,  and  then  they  begged 
from  him  permission  to  allow  them  to  build  the  house  of  their 
holy  place.  Permission  was  given  them  accordingly,  and 
they  took  from  him  a decree  having  his  signature,  and  which 
was  sealed  with  his  seal,  that  this  end  might  be  carried  out. 
They  turned  back  with  a great  crowd  of  people  and  they  came 
to  the  city  of  Jabish  and  began  to  rebuild  it. 

And  this  news  reached  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  and  they  vexed 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 


43 


them,  and  withstood  them,  and  expelled  them.  They  incited 
the  king  Sorday  against  them,  and  he  issued  orders  to  the 
tribe  of  Joseph  to  destroy  whatever  they  had  built.  Immedi- 
ately the  descendants  of  Phinehas  and  Joseph  assaulted  with 
a strong  hand  the  city  of  Jabish,  and  destroyed  all  that  the 
Jews  had  built,  and  this  was  the  cause  of  great  anger  to  the 
Jews,  and  the  enmity  became  great  between  the  people  of 
Joseph  and  the  Jews. 

Artaxerxes  and  Esther.— But  under  Phoresh  the  king,  and 
Dahartales  and  Ahoresh  and  Artahtsha,  kings  of  Persia,  the 
Jews  were  able  by  his  witchcraft  to  approach  the  king,  and  they 
presented  him  with  the  famous  Esther,  and  they  were  brought 
near  the  kings  through  their  maid  servants,  and  this  was  done 
through  the  advice  of  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  until  they  won  the 
heart  of  the  king  Ashoresh  under  the  direction  of  Esther  and 
through  the 'witchcraft  of  their  witches.  And  they  took  from 
him  a second  decree  to  build  the  city  of  iElia,  and  to  rebuild 
there  the  temple.  Ezra  was  given  absolute  authority  in  what- 
ever he  desired  to  do  in  the  land  of  Syria,  and  was  given  many 
financial  helps  from  his  treasury,  in  order  to  fulfill  his  plans. 
So  Ezra  stood  by  him,  and  all  his  people  and  their  leaders, 
and  came  to  the  land  of  Canaan  with  strong  hand  through  the 
help  of  Ashoresh,  and  came  to  yElia,  and  fortified  it,  and  built 
a great  temple  in  it,  and  built  its  walls,  and  ruled  there  over 
the  land  of  Canaan.  ' 

The  Inventions  of  Ezra. — When  Ezra  and  his  people  be- 
came settled  in  that  land,  and  had  found  the  people  of  Joseph 
were  in  the  best  condition  so  far  as  fulfilling  their  religious 
duties  is  concerned,  many  of  his  people  were  convinced  to  turn 
from  their  foolish  way  and  to  return  tO'  their  true  religion. 
The  Jews  had  no  book  in  their  possession,  and  they  could  not 
read  the  Torah,  and  they  only  had  the  name  Israelite,  but  the 


44  The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

majority  of  them  were  in  ignorance  and  negligence  like  illiter- 
ate people,  for  the  Torah  was  lost  from  among  them  during 
the  reign  of  Sorday  the  king. 

And  Ezra,  seeing  these  things,  began  to  gather  books  from 
the  legends  and  from  some  chronicles  and  narratives.  He 
invented  things  which  never  occurred,  and  he  wrote  them  in 
the  Assyrian  writing,  which  is  still  found  in  the  books  of  the 
Jews.  He  began  to  gather  into  books  as  he  thought  best,  and 
he  gathered  narratives  of  the  Israelites,  and  began  to  alter 
according  to  his  judgment.  Then  he  mentioned  the  people  of 
Samaria,  whose  origin  is  from  the  tribe  of  Joseph  and  descend- 
ants of  the  tribe  of  Phinehas,  and  he  called  them  Samaritans. 
He  said  that  they  were  Gotin  (Gentiles?).  It  is  recorded 
in  the  book  of  Kings,  the  seventeenth  chapter,  and  he  filled  it 
with  many  phrases  which  are  refuted  by  us  and  which  have 
no  truth  in  them.  All  of  this  was  because  of  his  hatred  of  the 
aforesaid  people,  whom  he  called  Samaritans. 

The  Two  Pronunciations  of  the  Unutterable  Name  of 
'‘YHJVH.” — And  he  invented  the  statement  that  they  worshiped 
the  dove,  an  idol  Ashina,  because  the  aforesaid  nation  pro- 
nounced the  name  of  the  Almighty,  according  to  their  custom, 
“YHWH,’^  which  the  Jews  read  ‘‘Adonai,”  but  the  Samaritans 
indicate  by  the  name  “Shimeh.”  He  therefore  invented 
against  them  the  story  that  they  read  it  “Ashimeh,”  and  that 
is  nothing  but  untruth. 

The  Modern  Hebrew  of  the  Jezmsh  Writings. — Ezra  com- 
posed his  books  in  the  Chaldean  writings,  and  the  Assyrian 
language,  according  to  the  language  which  his  people  had 
learned  in  their  exile,  because  they  were  then  ignoring  the 
Hebrew  language ; and  that  was  indeed  because  they  hated  the 
Israelites  who  had  recently  been  called  Samaritans.  Thus  the 
Jews  abandoned  the  Hebrew  writing,  but  it  is  still  kept  by  the 


45 


The  Religion  of  the  Samaritans. 

Samaritan  people.  He  compelled  his  people  by  violence  to 
keep  those  copies  which  he  had  invented,  and  to  teach  them 
to  their  children  and  their  children’s  children,,  and  this  was 
on  account  of  the  anger  and  vengeance  which  is  rebuked  by 
God  (may  He  be  extolled),  and  thus  God  took  away  from  the 
Jews  the  copy  of  the  true  Torah. 

On  account  of  the  great  wickedness  of  Ezra  and  his  perse- 
cutions  during  his  reign,  all  the  rest  of  the  tribes  of  Israel 
became  scattered  and  mixed  up  with  the  nations,  and  they 
were  scattered  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

And  Ezra  and  his  people  created  many  things  of  the  enmity 
of  the  Samaritans  which  was  illicit,  and  he  made  a war  between 
them  and  the  Jews,  for  pretended  fear  lest  the  Samaritans  should 
come  in  among  the  Jews  and  bring  corruption  to  the  book  of 
rules  and  ritual  which  he  had  given  them.  And  the  Jews 
continued  to  live  according  to  the  plan  which  Ezra  had  made 
for  them  which  ;s  unto  this  day. 

The  Diminution  of  the  Samaritans. — Thus  the  Jews  opposed 
the  Samaritans  in  ever>4hing,  and  they  continued  to  live  ac- 
cordingly for  many  years,  opposing  them  and  ruling  over 
them  and  they  were  the  cause  of  the  small  number,  together 
with  what  happened  to  them  through  the  ruling  of  the  Franks. 
And  through  the' changing  of  the  religion  many  a misfortune 
came  upon  them,  among  them  decrees  that  they  might  be 
smitten  by  the  sword  until  they  all  would  perish  to  the  last. 

The  Pozver  of  Islam.— And  when  our  lord  Mohammed 
appeared,  this  nation  was  very  numerous,  and  they  possessed 
many  cities  and  villages  until  the  year  700  of  the  Hegira. 
And  there  were  in  the  city  of  Caesarea,  and  round  about  it, 
about  thirty  thousand  whom  Salahuddin  Alioseph  exiled,  a 
man  from  the  great  ameers,  Islam.  And  there  was  a great 
number  of  them  in  Damascus,  and  Asham,  and  in  Egypt,  and 


3 0112  073152834 


46 


The  Religion  of  th^  Samaritans. 


in  Aleppo,  and  in  Gaza,  and  in  the  city  of  Joppa,  besides  those 
who  lived  in  Nablus  arid  in  this  mountain.  Through  the 
aggressive  power  of  Islam,  and  through  the  laws  of  religious 
liberty,  and  before  the  Osmanite  regime,  and  because  there 
was  none  to  direct  them,  the  things  which  God  threatened  in 
his  Holy  Law  took  place. 

The  Present  Status  of  the  Samaritan  People. — As  is  was 
prophesied,  they  became  very  few,  and  the  famous  cities  shall 
none  of  them  stand,  according  to  his  holy  Torah  in  the  bock 
of  Deuteronomy,  twenty-eighth  chapter,  sixty-second  verse; 
that  is,  “ Ye  shall  be  lew  in  number,”  and  “ All  shall  perish 
from  the  land  which  you  shall  long  to  possess.”  There  are 
many  threatenings  similar  to  this  which  indicate  this  present 
condition  which  came  upon  this  nation,  and  that  is  only  in 
order  that  they 'may  suffer  for  their  guilt  and  for  the  guilt 
of  their  forefathers,  according  to  His  saying  (may  He  be 
extolled)  in  the  book  of  Leviticus,  twenty-sixth  chapter,  forty- 
first  verse ; that  is,  “ And  they  shall  be  made  to  atone  for  their 
guilt.” 

But  this  nation  carry  out  the  ancient  customs  according  to 
the  Mosaic  law  as  well  as  they  can,  and  have  always  offered 
the  proper  prayers  to  the  God  of  all  creation,  that  he  might 
keep  them  from  all  harm,  misfortune,  and  all  violence. 

Praise  be  to  god,  the  Lord  of  two  worlds,  Amen. 


Jacob,  Son  of  Aaron,  High  Priest  of  the  Samaritans 
AT  Shechem. 


